Welcome to Litsy!

A true religious pilgrimage, even if confined to the few square miles around Tinker Creek, near Dillard's home in Virginia. The journey here is internal. This is the best nature writing I've ever had the pleasure to read, not an ounce of sentimentality or nostalgia, no rote cliches about nature's grandeur. It is grand though, and ugly and mystifying and disgusting and beautiful. Life's mysteries distilled into one tiny plot of land.

Enjoying the warm temps outside before the season cools down for good. Listening to either squirrels or birds scratching in a very tall tree next to me. Strawberry Acai Refresher by my side.

#HyggeHour
@AlldeBooks
@TheBookHippie
@Chrissyreadit

Up next. I hope it's a feel good book.

#CharacterCharm Day 29: I have been reading more of the works of #Poet Mary Oliver now that I have quit social media (Facebook, X, Instagram) over the past months. Poetry seems infinitely better for the soul.

I accidentally used a Everand credit on this when I meant to grab Yukon Alone. After a half hour of confusion about the book being about King Salmon and not an adventure race I figured it out and found the book very interesting. King salmon run along the Yukon River but like many other species are suffering with climate change and overfishing. The author takes a canoe trip to talk to the people who live along the river and see the salmon.

This week I‘ve had the opportunity to visit a cousin who‘s been teaching in a dual language village school in Alaska for several years. She shared the essay “In Quinhagak” from this book. It details the writer‘s visit to a village where an archaeological dig is working to preserve a 500 year old village in the same area of Alaska before it‘s washed away by the sea. It was fascinating to read and see details similar to the village where she lives.

Memoirs aren't always my favorite, but this one was a hit for me on so many levels: I loved the nature and ecology, the exploration of family and belonging and connection to place, defying expectations in a quiet way. I was surprised to learn that Lanham wasn't an experienced writer before this because his prose flows so well, and he does such a great job conveying emotion without becoming sappy (as many memoirs do). Loved this one!